


In Bloom

by Ardelia



Category: Trolls (2016)
Genre: Angst, Breek, Complicated Relationships, Creek is super fucked up, Drug Addiction, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, OCs galore, Rape, Rape Fantasy, Recreational Drug Use, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Violence, Why Did I Write This?, but so is branch, future rape/non con, i actually threw up after writing one part of this, idk why anyone would even want to read this, so be prepared, the movie never happened
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-16
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2018-12-30 08:04:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12104337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ardelia/pseuds/Ardelia
Summary: This fic centers mostly on Branch and his relationships with the village trolls, my own OC Saffron, and Creek. Branch finds an injured troll in the woods, and ends up having to keep her in his bunker. She wants to hug him all the time, and it pisses him off. She confuses him in more ways than one. In addition to dealing with this new irritating addition to his life, he has to deal with Poppy trying to drag him out into her shenanigans, and Creek seeking him out to bully him all the time. Will this end well for our dear, grey buddy? Maybe, maybe not. But guess what? Everyone is going to cry at least once. Have fun!





	1. It was a dark and stormy night (no, really)

The rain came down heavily in the darkness, making it near impossible to see more than a few feet in any direction. The survivalist cursed quietly under his breath, upset that he had taken the chance to go out farther into the woods. He had smelled the rain before it came, but had expected it would only be a light shower. Now, he struggled under his heavy load, trying desperately to find his bearings. He got turned around in the rain and dark, with only a tiny lantern to light his way. He sighed, and blew out the candle. At this point, it would only help hidden predators pinpoint his location.

He finally found a small landmark he recognized, and knew instantly where he was, which way the village was, and how to get home. As he turned to head to his bunker, his sensitive ears picked a small noise out from behind the crashing of the rain. Someone crying out for help. He growled, irritated that he had to, yet again, help guide one of the villagers back home, further endangering himself and the village. When would they learn?

He followed the voice as quickly as the squishing grass and sucking mud would allow. He pushed aside a large leaf to find a yellow troll on the ground, foot stuck between two tree roots. He didn’t recognize her as one of the village trolls, but he would help her regardless. He would never leave another troll helpless and hurt out in the forest.

“Hey, I’m here, it’s okay. I’m going to help you get out of that. I’m Branch.”

She looked up, trembling, the fear melting from her emerald eyes, relief washing over her. A small smile appeared, and her voice was heavy with exhaustion. She watched as he took out a small knife and began cutting away the large roots.

“Thank goodness! I was trying to follow the lights of the village, and I took my eyes off the path. I think I broke something. I’m Saffron.” 

He grunted as he pulled the last of the root away. He quickly removed his backpack and rummaged through it, bringing out some heavy bandage, and wrapped her ankle tightly. He then lashed some branches together and tied a thick blanket between them, making a travois, and lifted her quickly onto it.

He two trolls were silent as Branch pulled the injured Saffron to his bunker. It was too dark, and the rain too heavy, to brave taking her to the medical pod. She would have to wait until morning.  
She watched with intense curiosity as she was taken not to a pod as she was accustomed, but to an underground bunker. She had never seen a house underground. She was quickly pulled inside, and brought down on a lift to a dark room. Branch set her down, and walked quickly away.

“Wait here a minute.” She waited only a moment before she heard a light smacking sound, and a mushroom began glowing brightly in the darkness. She knew these. They gave off a bright light when they were touched, and the harder the touch, the brighter the glow. Perfect for an underground home, she thought. She watched the troll that had saved her walk toward a fireplace and kneel. With a couple taps of flint on steel, a fire blossomed in the cold hearth. With the ease of experience, he blew it quickly into a sizable blaze. When he turned to her, she gasped. He was grey.

She had never seen a grey troll before, only heard of them. Supposedly, a troll could lose their color after a severe trauma or other event which stripped them of hope. She briefly wondered what happened to him before he interrupted her thoughts.

“Uhm, welcome to my home, I guess.” He blushed a little, not used to having anyone in his bunker, let alone a stranger. “It’s too dark and wet to take you to a healer tonight, so, I uh, thought you could stay here until morning, if that’s alright.” His feet shuffled, and he seemed twitchy. His unease made her nervous, as well.

“Thank you so much, Branch, I’m so sorry to put you out like this.”

“Uhm, don’t mention it… I, uh, I’ll take you into the bedroom, you can sleep in my bed.” He didn’t really want a stranger in his bed, but with her injury, he figured it would be nice to make her as comfortable as possible.

She gave a nod, and he helped her to the room and onto a chair next to the bed. He got a towel out of the bathroom, and a large shirt and pair of drawstring pants from his dresser. Setting them next to her, he unwrapped her ankle, and saw that it was, as she thought, broken. 

“Oh gosh, I don’t know that I can help with a broken ankle… I haven’t had to set a bone before. Uhm, can I at least get you something for pain?”

She looked at her ankle for a moment, and reached into her soaked shirt to bring out a small leather bag. She unbuttoned it while Branched looked on, and brought out a handful of flowers. She held them out to the grey troll.

“Could you put these in a mug of hot water for me? They’ll be enough for tonight.” He was taken aback at her actions. He wasn’t used to anyone knowing much about plants, other than the healers.

“Yeah, sure. Be right back.” She watched him leave, then looked around the room. There wasn’t much. Just a bed, a door through which she could see a bathroom, and a dresser. There were no decorations, not even a rug. 

“Wow, this room is as grey as he is…”


	2. Tea and Tragedy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch and Saffron get ready for bed, and she has a case of word vomit.

While he was out of the room, she reached for the towel and began to dry her pastel pink hair. Once it was no longer dripping, she stripped as quickly as her throbbing ankle would allow and changed into the extra clothes he left. She wrapped her wet clothing in the towel and set the bundle on the floor, just as Branch reentered the room with a steaming mug.

“H-here you go. Uh, do you need help into bed?” She smiled as he walked closer to set the mug down. Though he was grey, he seemed nice, and she was quickly becoming more comfortable around him. 

“Yes, please, I’m not sure if I can get up there…” He slid his arms around her shoulders and behind her knees, picking her up bridal style. He sat her on the bed, propped her foot up on some pillows, and tucked the blanket around her. Once she was tucked in, he handed her the herbal tea and sat in the chair next to her as she sipped the drink. He tapped his hands on his knees, trying to look anywhere but her. He was restless, nervous, and didn’t know what to say or do. She, on the other hand, had a lot to say.

“So, how many other trolls live here with you? This place is so big, there must be a lot of you. How come you guys live underground? I’m sure it’s a lot cooler in summer than living up in pods, but it’s so dark! I really like the mushroom idea, by the way, I probably wouldn’t have thought of that! How long did it take… you…” She looked over at him and saw him looking at her with his head cocked and a confused look on his face. “Oh, sorry, I was rambling, wasn’t I?”

“Yeah… I’m not much of a conversationalist, but I guess I can answer some of those questions. I live here alone. Everyone else lives in the village, and they do live in pods. As for how long it took to build this, it’s still a work in progress. It always will be. I’ve been working on it for 20 years.” He looked away from her and crossed his arms. Here would come the judgment. It always happened. No one else understood why he did the things he did. Instead of a jab at him and his life, or sarcastic remark, her voice comes out a soft whisper.

“Why do you live alone, Branch? Don’t you get lonely?” His head snapped back to look at her again. He could see no judgment in her eyes, only sadness. This was a first.

“It’s a long story. You have to be at least a level 4 friend to unlock my tragic backstory. Sorry.” He chuckled to himself, proud of his little joke.

“So… What level am I at now?” His jaw dropped.

“What?” She giggled at his expression.

“You said I have to be at least a level 4 friend, so, what level am I at now? How do I get to level 4?” She was serious. Of course she was.

“Okay, you know what, I totally walked into that one. There are no friend levels. I don’t have friends. Nobody knows my tragic backstory.” He stared daggers at the wall, and his face fell into a scowl.

“That’s really sad. I wish I had friends… I’ve been alone since I left my village, and I’ve been hoping to find somewhere I could belong.” He glanced sideways at her and she was looking into her tea, a somber look in her eyes. Her smile was gone. He felt bad. He hadn’t meant to upset her.

He uncrossed his arms and stood up. 

“I didn’t mean to bring up any bad feelings. Sorry… I’ll just let you get to bed, and we’ll get you patched up in the morning.” He rubbed his arm. “I’ll just be in the next room. You know, if you need anything. Night.” He turned to leave the room and paused to pull the door halfway shut when he heard her quiet voice call out to him.

“Branch, can I have a hug before you go?” He groaned.

“Sorry, I don’t do hugs. Night.”

He didn’t hear her gasp when he said this. He was already on the couch, trying his hardest to fall asleep.

She finished drinking her tea in silence and began to feel it take effect. Her last thoughts before she succumbed to sleep were of a sad, lonely troll who just needed a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is going so slow... I have chapters 5000000 and on written, but the beginning of a story is always hard for me. As always, criticism and comments are always welcome!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first trolls fic, so, yay. I like to write and let it just kinda play out and hope it works together. Often when I do this, I get a lot of unnecessary backstory and situations that just don't add up. I will be adding some of those parts to my other work, Creek's world. They don't happen in this story, but are what happens if Creek gets his way. Also, some of my OCs accidentally got a lot of extra backstory, and apparently lead some very busy lives, so they will eventually have their own works, as well. So there's that to look forward to. Thanks for reading and reviewing, I love any and all comments, questions, concerns, and criticism!


End file.
